


Not Afraid

by Pixiigh



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Haley is a sweet nervous bean, heart events
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 00:32:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14630280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixiigh/pseuds/Pixiigh
Summary: Haley feels something new when the new farmer moves in.





	Not Afraid

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from an incredibly sweet anon on Tumblr! I hope you like it, anon!

A lot of things had changed for Haley the day the new Farmer moved in.

For the first time ever, she found herself interested in someone other than Alex. And, realistically, she wasn’t that into Alex in the first place. She had once found herself crushing on Sam, way back in high school, but he had belched pizza breath in her face while on a coffee date, so that didn’t last long.

Max was different. When he first introduced himself to her, he presented her with a daffodil and a stunning smile. She had smiled back, in a bit of a daze, and Emily would later make fun of her for giving the new farmer “goo-goo eyes.”

She noticed him running around the town shortly after they met, giving out gifts to everyone he came across. She hadn’t, however, seen the same smile he gave her directed at anyone else.

“Hi, Haley,” he would say, a little breathlessly, gently pressing a flower or a pretty gem he found in the mines into her hand. “I got this for you. I hope you like it.”

She would smile up at him, and he would smile down at her, flashing his big white teeth. Without fail, she would blush bright red every time.

Max’s farm flourished into the rest of spring. Haley had visited a few times, and marvelled at the quick work he had made of clearing the debris and planting new crops. It was mostly vegetables, so she didn’t get too excited, but she was impressed all the same.

The Flower Dance was quickly approaching. Haley was struggling to find a way to ask Max to dance with her. Sure, she could just straight up ask him, but the very thought made her jaw go weak and unable to speak.

So, she crossed her fingers and hoped he would ask her himself.

He arrived at the Flower Dance dressed in the stupid, stuffy suit that the Mayor had undoubtedly sent him, but Haley noticed (with a blush, of course) that it suited him more than it suited anyone else. When he noticed her, he gave her a small wave and a grin. She felt her knees buckle slightly under her.

She tried to approach him, but found she was rooted on the spot from nervousness. She watched as Emily approached him instead, and she strained to hear their conversation.

“Are you dancing with anyone today?” Emily asked. He shrugged.

“I’m not really the dancing type. I have two left feet and zero coordination.”

Haley could see Emily shoot her a coy smile. “I don’t think Haley has anyone to dance with. She could teach you. She’s won Flower Queen six years in a row.”

Haley barely covered the squeak that came out of her mouth as Max smiled dreamily and looked at her again. She waved at him with the tips of her fingers and laughed nervously.

To the delight of every part of her, he walked over.

“Hi, Haley,” he said to her in that deep and melodic voice of his. “I hear you’re a Flower Dance expert.”

She giggled breathily. “It sounds so impressive when you say it like that. It’s really nothing.”

“I, uh… don’t know how to dance,” he admitted. “Would you teach me?”

Her whole body burned, and she was sure he noticed, but she smiled as gracefully as she could manage and held out her hand.

“Of course,” she said. His hand closed over hers and it felt like sparks were going up her body. She wondered if he could feel them too. “There isn’t much to dancing. It can all be done by remembering a simple one-two-three movement. Let me show you.”

She began to lead him in a simple dance with newfound confidence. Despite how nervous and excited she was at having Max so close, her body did not betray her, and she marvelled at how easy it could be.

His movements were a bit clumsy, but Haley kept at it to help him become more nimble and fluid.

“You’re getting it,” she commented, looking up once again to meet his brown eyes. “It’s much easier than people make it out to be.”

“You’re a good teacher,” he sent back to her. His face softened, and he pulled her a bit closer. “If I had known how much I would learn, I would have asked for lessons the day I met you.”

Butterflies exploded in her stomach and his scent filled her nose. He had planted seeds this morning, she noticed, as he smelled earthy and grassy.

“You look beautiful today, by the way,” he added, resting his chin on the top of her head.

If Haley could have died of happiness right then and there, she was sure she would have.

* * *

 

Haley had been spending the beautiful summer day in the Cindersap Forest near the ranch, shooting pictures of everything she came across.

She got a few cute shots of Marnie’s cows, a nice close up of a wild sweet pea growing outside of Leah’s house, and she had even managed to sneak up on a small, brown rabbit in a bush.

She busied herself taking pictures of the ranch itself when she turned and trained her lens straight on Max, who had snuck up soundlessly. He plastered a huge grin on his face when he realized he was the subject of a photograph.

She snapped a picture quickly, then lowered her camera.

“Oh, Max!” she exclaimed in fake surprise, like she hadn’t come out here specifically because she knew he liked to take the forest path into town. “The lighting is so nice right now, I had to come out and take some nature shots.”

She looked him up and down, at his overalls covered in dirt, his cheeks red from the sun, and his orange hair slicked down slightly with sweat from the day.

 _Nature shots indeed,_ she thought to herself.

“I’ve been trying to connect with the outdoors a little more,” she went on, hoping she wasn’t too obvious. “I want to know what it’s like, you know, being a farmer. It’s a way of life I’ve never really thought about. Well… Until now.”

She met his gaze a little cheekily, and his grin softened. She was glad she had allowed herself that little comment, relieved that it hadn’t fallen flat and embarrassed her. She turned to the cows behind the fence.

“These cows are so cute.”

She leaned on the fence, and he leaned with her, standing close enough for their arms to brush against each other. The butterflies taking permanent residence in her stomach whenever she found herself around him took flight inside of her.

“Hey, I have an idea.” She grinned mischievously and turned around to set her camera up on the tripod she had brought along. She angled it to face the cows and set the timer. “Let’s take some pictures with these cows! You can show me how to approach one.”

He hoisted her up over the fence before following her into the cow enclosure. She was sure Marnie wouldn’t mind as long as Max was with her. The woman fawned over him just as bad as Haley did.

The camera clicked a few times, and registered shots of the two of them standing beside the cows, Haley petting a particularly friendly one, Max holding on to her as the cow allowed her to climb on its back, and finally, Haley leaning too far off the side of the cow and falling into the mud.

Normally, she would have been disgusted and demanded a shower right away. This time, in Max’s presence, she couldn’t help but giggle, and her laughter was infectious. He laughed too as he carried her back over the fence (the sparks came back when he did this as well) so she could check out her photos.

They were _perfect._

“That was fun, Max,” she said earnestly as she showed him each photo. “These turned out hilarious!”

“I like this one,” he said when she got to the photo of him holding her while on the cow. “You look really happy.”

“The cow doesn’t,” she replied with another giggle.

He accompanied her back home against the setting sun. He leaned on the side of the house as her hand hovered over the doorknob, although she didn’t really want to go in.

“Hey, what’s with this Jelly thing?” he asked her. “I got a letter in the mail from Demetrius and I can’t find anything about any Jellies at the library.”

Haley smiled. “Every year, luminescent Jellyfish migrate and they make a stop in the cove here. You can see them from the beach, so the town has made a whole event of going down there on the night that they arrive. It’s always the last day of summer, so it’s kind of like our last hurrah before it starts getting colder.”

Feeling the same sudden confidence as she had months ago at the Flower Dance, she added, “do you want to go with me?”

“I’d love to go with you.”

* * *

 

Haley had been going to see the Moonlight Jellies since she was a kid, so to her, nothing was new. To Max, however, it was amazing.

She sat beside him on the dock, both of them with their knees hugged up to their chests, and watched the Jellies swim in. He gasped, oohed, and aahed appropriately, eyes wide with amazement.

At some point, she realized that his hand had closed over hers, intertwining their fingers together. Though the air was beginning to cool, she felt hot all over. She couldn’t help but smile, and she was sure she looked like a fool.

She had been so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize that they were the last ones left on the beach. It was probably around midnight, and the ocean was nothing more than a dark blanket of water rolling in underneath them.

“Do you mind if we stay a little longer?” Max asked softly. “If you’re cold, you can come closer. It’s just a really nice night, and I like being out here with you.”

Haley sucked in a breath and began reciting Yoba’s prayer in her head to thank Him for the opportunity in front of her. She scooted her body against the wood of the dock to get closer to him, and once their hips touched, he brought his hand from hers to place around her shoulder. The action brought her head closer to his chest, and she leaned in happily.

He was warm and firm underneath her.

_Yoba, you are a good and generous God and I thank you for all you are doing for me right now…_

He rested his cheek on top of her head and she could feel herself start to shake. Whether it was from the cold of the water or the nerves, she didn’t know, but he evidently took it as the former and pulled her tighter against him.

“I can’t believe fall starts tomorrow,” he mused into her hair. “Summer went by so fast.”

“It always does,” she agreed. “Time flies when you’re having fun, I guess.”

She sighed happily. The summer had indeed flown by in a blur – a blur marked by days spent with him all over town.

She felt him kiss the top of her head lightly and her chest tightened.

_Yoba, you are a good and generous God. I promise I will stop asking you for a mall in the Valley and I’ll also stop calling Emily weird so much. Please don’t let this end._

As if the thoughts directed to Yoba were being heard, she gained confidence to put her hand on Max’s knee. He hummed in satisfaction.

As they sat quietly, the waves continued to roll in. Haley closed her eyes.

“There’s a green jelly coming in,” Max said suddenly, jolting her. She straightened up a bit, smiling.

“They’re good luck.”

She moved her head so she could look at him properly. He was looking at her.

“I’d say so.”

He leaned in, his eyes half closed. A kiss landed on her forehead, moved down to her cheek, her chin, and finally –

When their lips met, Haley felt as though a fire was being lit in the pit of her stomach. His mouth was warm on hers, and his lips were slightly chapped, but she didn’t mind. All she cared about was the fact that she was finally, _finally_ kissing Max.

Maybe it was the green jellyfish that brought her good luck. Maybe it was her constant prayers to Yoba.

Or maybe, just maybe, Max had been feeling the same electricity between them all along.

Before she met Max, Haley had been afraid of the future. Afraid of what might happen if she didn’t meet anyone who lit the fire that Max lit inside of her. Afraid of what might happen if she didn’t meet anyone who made her as happy as Max made her, or made her feel as beautiful as Max did.

But in Max’s embrace, with his lips on hers, Haley wasn’t afraid anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me over on [Tumblr!](https://emilywritesnonsense.tumblr.com/) You, like the anon this story is for, can make a request and I will do my best to write you something :)


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